Longitudinal research measure relationships between variables over a period of time. Longitudinal research involves information about an individual or group at different times throughout a long period. A series of Cross-sectional research investigations taken over time will provide a longitudinal research study. For example, one might follow a group of males from birth to age 30 to measure their involvement with the criminal justice system over time and relate this information to their parents' socioeconomic status. Recent developments in analytical methods and in data collection activities, including the growing number of longitudinal data sets in Canada and worldwide, have allowed for the increased reliance on powerful longitudinal approaches by research projects. Panel Study is a form of longitudinal research.
Longitudinal research studies of effects of divorce on children in Great Britain and the United States - AJ Cherlin, FF Furstenberg Jr, L Chase-Lansdale, KE Kiernan, PK Robins, DR Morrison, and JO Teitler - Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore. National, longitudinal surveys from Great Britain and the United States were used to investigate the effects of divorce on children. In both studies, a subsample of children who were in two-parent families during the initial interview (at age 7 in the British data and at ages 7 to 11 in the U.S. data) were followed through the next interview (at age 11 and ages 11 to 16, respectively).
The Centre for Longitudinal Research Studies - Following lives from birth and through the adult years. - (CLS) is an ESRC Resource Centre based at the Institution of Education.